A Psychic Walks Into A Forest
by TheBookstore
Summary: There were a few things Saiki enjoyed enough to sacrifice his weekend for ... and camping was not one of them. Not even close.
1. Chapter 1: You Want Me To What?

Writing this just for fun. I feel like there aren't that many stories in this fandom and I really like it so I'll keep doing it while its fun and relieves stress. :D

It's not beta'd ;-; so good luck n help me out if you see anything.

Thanks guys & enjoy!

_Thinking 'Projecting' "_Speaking_"_

* * *

_'You want me to _what_?'_

It was Friday after school. After a long, grueling week of social interaction, Saiki was ready to go home, eat, and collapse in his bed for the entirety of the weekend. He was already imagining the heaven that was to come before he was accosted at his desk by Kuboyasu, Kaidou and Nendou (feat. their horrible request).

The trio flinched back at the murderous look on their (supposed) friend's face. Kaidou stepped forward timidly, raising his hands and putting them together imploringly as if that would placate the psychic, "I-Its only for the weekend." He stuttered, "We didn't think you would be too upset, after all, what's a camping trip between friends?"

Saiki felt a migraine start to form between his eyes as multiple different ways Kaidou's sentence could be construed flashed through his mind:

_"What's a luxury weekend cruise trip between friends?"_

_"What's a school trip to Osaka between friends?"_

_"What's are several after school club meetings between friends, huh?"_

Moving his arms up conclusively to signify an 'X', Saiki rejected their idea definitively.

_'Take my name off the list. I'm not going.'_

For all intents and purposes, that _should_ have been the end of it. When someone says they are _not_ going to do something, that meant they were _definitely not _going to do it. But of course, when these three came together, nothing was that simple.

The three idiots kept making eyes at one another, refusing to look at him or respond to his demand_._ Reading their minds offered no help as the only thing he could hear was, "_Are _you_ going tell him?_," "_No way, are _you_ going to tell him?_" "_Nu-_uh_ are _you_ going to tell him?_" and on and on it went.

(It goes without saying that Nendou was excluded from this exchange.)

Saiki's eyes narrowed at the circular discussion until Kuboyasu sheepishly scratched his chin and decided to be the one to speak up. _Finally._

"Well. You see, Saiki." He started, "Matsuzaki-sensei was pretty adamant that there were no take backs once the names were on the list… so its kind of impossible..."

Despite Kuboyasu's definitive statement, Saiki was relieved. 'No take backs_'_ was an extremely flimsy rule for Matsuzaki-sensei to mandate. Surely it had contingencies that he could exploit to get him out of this. The psychic was in the process of moving 'meet with Matsuzaki-sensei' to the top of his _to-do-right-absolutely-now_ list, when Kaidou whispered quietly,

"It's actually considered three P.E. grades now. So…"

_Ah._

_There_ it is.

When they ruined things, they didn't do it in halves, did they?

Being that Saiki's whole high school experience was fixed on being perfectly average, this was a huge deterrent. Due to his not-so-average abilities, P.E. was his hardest class to keep a perfect average on. He couldn't always predict his performance. Failing three P.E. grades would force him to risk standing out to make up for it, while gaining three P.E. grades would allow him to slack off easier in future courses. It was both the best and worst circumstance for someone like him to be in.

Unfortunately Saiki knew what he had to do.

"Look on the bright side!" Nendou grinned, seeing the cloud shrouding his good friend, "We already went camping on that deserted island before. What's the worst that could happen now?"

"Nendou's right!" Kaidou said raising a gloved hand to stick in his hair dramatically, "As long as the Jet Black Wings is coming along, there is nothing anyone has to fear."

Saiki could only stare dryly at the duo, unable to muster the energy to do anything else. He'd rather save it all for the trip.

"Kaidou-kun!" Chiyo chirped enthusiastically, stopping in front of Saiki's desk turning the annoying group of three into _too many people_. Already he was packing his books into his bag in preparation to leave. Oblivious, Chiyo kept going, "I heard you're going on Matsuzaki's camping trip this weekend! Is it true?"

"You heard correctly!" The white haired boy replied, matching her energy, "The trip was on the verge of being cancelled and so we decided to sign up. It seemed like a good enough opportunity to scout the area."

Saiki stuffed his notebook a little too hard into his book bag, it bent like paper.

"Scout?" Chiyo wondered, focusing on the least important part of Kaidou's statement.

"The Dark Reunion has a base very close to the campsite." Kaidou explained, as if it were common knowledge. "I thought this would be a great way to see what they were doing there."

Chiyo nodded emphatically, but Saiki knew she had no idea what the chuunibyou was saying. She was just nodding to show she was a great listener.

_Good grief_, Saiki thought, closing his bag. Chiyo's mental actions didn't surprise him. He knew people glossed over a lot of things potential partners said in the name of 'love.' What raised his hackles was the plan she was concocting as a result of Kaidou's response.

"What a coincidence!" The red-head said innocently, "I'm actually going on the trip too!"

This statement got Kuboyasu's attention as he looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, "Really?" He questioned, notes of a challenge lining his tone, "That's interesting, Chiyo-san, considering Matsuzaki-sensei was _pretty clear_ that it was going to be an _all_ _boys_ trip this weekend. Girls weren't allowed."

While Chiyo's thoughts did screech to a halt at Kuboyasu's declaration, _c_ommendably she was not deterred. "R-really?" She laughed nervously, "I was pretty sure I signed my name on the form."

_Liar, _Saiki supplied

"It must have been after us because I didn't see anyone else's name on the list after us." Nendou replied, thinking hard to remember.

"Y-yeah! That's what it was" Chiyo perked up, claiming the lifeline, "It was _definitely_ after!"

_Liar, _Saiki repeated, rolling his eyes.

In any case, he'd had enough of the nonsense and stood to leave. Usually wherever Chiyo went, _she_ followed. And while he found that he didn't necessarily mind her presence as much anymore, he wasn't in the mood to be caught in any of her traps.

The 'she' & 'her' being Teruhashi Kokomi, of course_._

That girl had been planning something these past couple of weeks involving him and while he played along long enough to get the gist of her scheme, he wasn't going to let her execute it on him today. In simpler circumstances, he probably would have humored her, after all, she had been putting in the effort. But he didn't want to get blindsided again today. Once was enough.

_She can try again next week. _He concluded.

The sound of mental "offu"s" nearby grew in number and intensity and Saiki knew his time was limited. Stepping around the group, he was almost to the door before Nendou grasped his shoulder and stopped his progress, "So Aibou, you're coming?"

The obstinate amount of "Of-fu's" nearing the classroom multiplied. At this point, he supposed he would say nearly anything to get out of that grasp.

_'Yes. Sure. Whatever.' _He replied. It's not like he had a choice.

"Yay!" Nendou cheered, hand still on Saiki's shoulder, "Hey guys! Did you hear that? Aibou's coming!"

Kaidou clapped in excitement, "We can go shopping for camping gear!" He planned, initial fear at suggesting the trip forgotten, "And we can test it out in my backyard tonight, if you're willing."

"It reminds me of simpler times," Kuboyasu said, in a tone that said its listeners both would _and wouldn't_ understand what he was talking about, "You won't regret the trip, Saiki, camping is an _experience_."

Saiki didn't believe him for one second. There were a few things Saiki enjoyed enough to sacrifice his weekend for and camping was not one of them. Not even close.

_'Yes, well,' _Saiki ended up replying, '_We'll see.'_

As the group fed off each other's energy coming up with plans for the following day, Saiki shrugged off Nendo's arm when it seemed like it wouldn't be missed and slipped out of the room. Quick as he could manage, he moved into the bathroom on the hall just as a soft glow rounded the hallway corner.

He let himself breath out a soft sigh of relief as the door swished closed behind him in finality. That was a close one.

_Good grief,_ Saiki thought, _it's always one thing, or another with these people_. He wondered if he would ever catch a break.

Knowing the group he was entangled with, it didn't seem too likely.

_Camping, huh?_ He mused to himself, shaking his head, _what. a. pain._


	2. Chapter 2: The Best Laid Plans

Thank you so much for the reviews and everything! :) Here is the next chapter.

* * *

Teruhashi Kokomi was on a mission.

"Of-fu!" "Of-fu!" "Of-fu!" "Of-fu!"

The gasps followed the blue haired girl down the halls and she counted each one out of habit. Once upon a time, she cared immensely about the number, but nowadays she only had one person on her mind.

Arriving to the doors of her classroom, she smiled, _Today was the day!_

Normally when she entered the room, she would attract everyone's full attention except for one person's. The most she could get from that person was a cursory side eye before he returned to his internal musings and ignored her.

_But, not today!_ She thought determinedly, her internal flame burning even brighter. Today her entrance would be one which would make _that person_ turn!

(_That person_, of course, being Saiki Kusuo.)

A small part of her withered at the internal declaration. _Just turn?_, it said, derisively, _How demeaning. You're putting in so much effort just to get _one boy_ to look your way properly? Embarrassing._

Kokomi's fists clenched tightly, at the thought but then slowly relaxed. Even perfect pretty girls like her had to go through hard times, right? From this trial, she would come out an even better person. A person loved by everyone!

A person loved by even him!

With a confidence she almost didn't feel, Kokomi opened the door with a flourish, smiling a truly angelic smile, and upping her charm to 110%, "Hello~!" She said brightly to the room, stunning it with her glow.

"Of-fu!" Came the reply in unison, "Hello Teruhashi-san!".

Through her smile she counted 1 less 'of-fu' than the amount of boys in her class (as expected), but when she got to properly examining Saiki's desk, she noticed that while it was surrounded by the usual suspects, it was distinctly missing one with pink hair.

_. . . !_

She stood there smiling woodenly for a moment before laughing forcibly, "I'm sorry, I just... I must have gotten the wrong room…" With that, she turned around, stepped outside the classroom, and closed the door quickly behind her.

_No way!_ She thought furiously, mind working in overdrive, _Where is he?! _

It was Friday, which normally meant that Saiki tried to leave the school like someone was after him _and_ his whole family. It was strange, but she supposed everyone had 'their thing.'

For three Fridays now, Kokomi volunteered to run an errand for the teacher before the last bell rang. This allowed her to "run into' the pink haired boy on his speedy exit out of the school while she made her way back to the classroom. Yes, she spent more time fielding her fan club when she eventually made it back, but this tested sacrifice usually gave her a few minutes at at the very least alone with the boy before the day was up. She had fully expected to use those minutes today.

But he hadn't show up on the usual route today, so she assumed he stayed a little later in the classroom. That obviously wasn't the case.

_Did I scare him?_ She wondered, hand on chin, _Maybe three straight weeks of running into me made him nervous. I mean, it makes sense._

In their interactions, Saiki didn't _look_ like he was upset, but Saiki's expression never really changed much in general, so that didn't mean anything anyway.

Geez, of all the people her heart decided to fixate on, did she _have_ to fall for the one with the emotional range of a potato?!

( _Yes. Yes she did._ )

As she resolved to set off to attempt to look for her target again on foot, the door to the classroom opened behind her and a familiar voice called out to her.

"Kokomi! I'm so glad you didn't wander off! I need your help!"

"Chiyo?" Kokomi blinked at the girl, a little surprised at the sudden request, "What is it?"

Kokomi knew she was on a time limit (on top of It being a Friday, when Saiki disappeared, there was almost no hope of ever finding him again), but she also knew that as a perfect pretty girl, she couldn't turn away someone in need before she saw if she could help them or not.

Kokomi watched the red-head hesitate and then get a strange glint in her eye.

_Uh oh,_ the beauty thought just as internal alarm bells started to ring.

As a very sought after person, there were a few skills Kokomi had to develop to make sure that she kept herself safe. Such skills like knowing when people were following her saved her on more than one occasion. Right now, something in Chiyo's expression reminded her of when guys wanted to ask impossible favors or trick her into doing things. That didn't bode well.

But while her hackles were raised, Kokomi didn't let her smile fall from her face as she resolved to hear the girl out. After all, it was Chiyo and they were friends, right?

"What do you think about going camping this weekend?" The red-head asked innocently.

Kokomi blinked in response. Out of all the scenarios she'd thought up, this was not one of them.

The whole point of finding Saiki today was to invite him to the movies this weekend. Did she really want to tell Chiyo that?

( She imagined the red-headed girl devil-horned and grinning, teasing her endlessly about her crush. )

... Not really.

"I - Ah - I have plans." She supplied, instead, with an apologetic smile. _That should do it!_ Kokomi thought, _Not a lie, but a safe way to avoid the truth._

Chiyo pouted and looked away dejectedly, "Oh that's unfortunate." She said, "I'm going camping with the guys this weekend. Its Matsuzaki-sensei's trip, you know? I'm the only girl going so I wanted to invite you. But if you're so busy..."

"With... The guys?" Kokomi asked, zero-ing in on the detail. Her internal alarm bells dimmed and hope began to rise instead. There were only a few "guys" Chiyo could be referring to here and usually where just one of them went the others…

"Who is all going?" She asked, just to be sure.

"Oh, you know," Chiyo replied slowly with a secret smile, "Nendou-kun — "

_It's a start,_ Kokomi nodded, once.

"Kuboyasu-kun — "

_Uh-huh…_ Kokomi nodded twice.

"Kaidou-kun"

_Of course._ Three times.

"And…"

_And?_ She held her breath, learning closer despite herself.

"…Saiki-kun too!" Chiyo finally said, after much too long a pause.

_Ping! Ping! Ping!_

Kokomi didn't realize how close she had gotten to Chiyo until she felt the puffs of air from the girl's laughter blow on her face. The blue haired girl blushed and stepped away quickly.

"I — ah — I was just — !" Kokomi huffed, as Chiyo laughed harder. Couldn't the girl show her a little mercy? She knew that this was difficult for her! This was _exactly_ why she didn't want to tell her about her plans before, "I mean, it just sounds like you'll need some female company on the trip, what with all those guys going."

"Right?" Chiyo nodded, secret grin still present, but thankfully laughing no more, "The thing is that the last day to register for the trip is today. I forgot to do it and was going to ask Matsuzaki-sensei now. Do you wanna come with?"

A weekend with Saiki where he couldn't easily run away?

Her, Saiki, and the stars, and …

It was really a no brainer.

Teruhashi took Chiyo's hand, smiling bright, "Of course, Chiyo ! Let's go find Matsuzaki-sensei!"

_This is perfect!_ Kokomi smiled brightly, the amount of 'of-fu's' intensifying as they walked. _This way, I can be with Saiki not just for one movie, but for an entire weekend! I don't even have to corner him today! Thank you God!_

Kokomi was so deep in her celebrations, she didn't notice Chiyo's matching, but more sinister grin as they moved onwards. _Get us on that roster Kokomi-chan! _she thought confidently,_ All boys trip or not, there's no way Matsuzaki-sensei is going to say no to that face! I believe in you !_

Some ways away in a bathroom stall, a certain pink haired psychic raised his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose.

_Good grief_, He thought from his seat, _How exactly was he going to handle this one?_


	3. Chapter 3: The Games We Play

Guys I am so happy you like this story! :) Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts, and favorites.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

It was one thing to know that your weekend was going to fall apart and not be able to do anything about it. Saiki counted that as an unfortunate factor of the human experience. Even he as a psychic had to go through it.

But it was another thing entirely to know that your weekend was going to fall apart and you had every possible ability to keep it from getting worse. Saiki counted this as a different sort of circumstance. One he didn't know if anyone else really experienced.

This was the start of a Game.

Over the course of his life, Saiki learned that the universe had an unfortunate way of toying with him. "Game 1. How badly do you want to watch your show, Saiki?," "Game 23. How badly do you want to sleep this weekend, Saiki?," "Game 749. How badly do you want to get out of this time loop, Saiki?"

The worst Game, and the one the universe liked to play most was "Game 210. How badly do you want to enjoy that coffee jelly, Saiki?" Saiki hated to lose and that one always had the worst odds.

In each and every Game the universe threw at him, Saiki always tried to do his best to win. His success rate wasn't great given that he had the handicaps of strange parents, a psychotic older brother, and as evidenced just recently, ridiculous colleagues, among others.

( ... would 'friends' have been the better term there? )

In any case, this, here, was another round of "Game 273. How badly do you want to avoid Teruhashi, Saiki?" and Saiki was going to win. He just had to figure out how.

Now, was the world going to explode if Teruhashi joined the camping trip? No. That's a silly question. The world would be fine. But was _he_ going to explode out of sheer exasperation if Teruhashi joined the camping trip? Well, that question was not so silly and did not require any further investigation in his personal, _professional_ opinion.

Saiki teleported to the third floor bathroom as soon as he used Clairvoyance to find Matsuzaki-sensei. The teacher was in his office scolding Mera for stealing and eating several other students' super ramen bowls during lunch. Saiki felt bad for the girl because he knew she hadn't eaten anything substantial since yesterday morning, but Matsuzaki-sensei wasn't a psychic, so he didn't know anything about that.

Switching Clairvoyant views, Saiki saw Teruhashi and Chiyo just entering the first floor stairwell to get to Matsuzaki-sensei's office.

With his abilities, intercepting the two girls should have been child's play from there. Just slip out of the bathroom, get to the office, and stall there until the girls arrived. There was no way Chiyo was going to ask to be put on the all boys roster with him right there. It was just too desperate.

But the Games never were that simple. The problem lied in the first obstacle in the hallway blocking his progression to Matsuzaki-sensei's office right now.

_'They are all working so hard! I'm so proud! I have to work _even harder_ to show them how much I appreciate their efforts! I'll use _10 times the strength_ of each person here to show them how grateful I am and that they should keep up the good work to _go beyond_! C'mon guys! _Gwwraaahhh!_'_

...Hairo.

_Good grief,_ Saiki scowled internally,_ Where did he even come from?_

The uber passionate boy's thoughts were so extra, it felt like it was taking up all of his headspace. Still, Hairo's hair-brained plan must have worked because the underclassmen's thoughts he was directing were completely amazed and swept in the popular boy's intensity. It was the typical Hairo-effect. Good for _them_, bad for _him_.

What the group was actually doing, Saiki could care less, but with Hairo flitting around in the hallway, he was sure to be roped into whatever nonsense they were working on as soon as he was spotted. That would mean Teruhashi would make it to Matsuzaki-sensei's office before he could and that would be End Game.

There had to be another way.

Ah, Invisibility.

Invisibility was good, but once he was invisible he was stuck like that for ten minutes, whether or not he still needed the power. Ten minutes was long enough to sneak past Hairo, but once the ten minutes were up, the girls would have definitely beat him to Matsuzaki-sensei's office which was no good. End Game.

Well, unless someone touched him to get him back in the realm of visibility before the 10 minutes were up.

_That's a thought. _Saiki nodded, concocting his plan.

There were three people Saiki trusted enough to do this.

( In this use of 'trust', think of a parent trusting a toddler to disarm a complicated bomb in a narrow crawl space they can't quite get through themselves. The odds of success aren't great, but its 10 times better than if they didn't try at all. )

Akechi: Would probably talk him out of his invisibility before he could even touch him. Would probably also ask too many questions before he accepted the task. Would probably even ask too many questions _after_ he completed the task. _Would probably even_ deduce _why_ he wanted to see Matsuzaki-sensei and bring himself along on the trip. _Nope. Nope. Not an option. Next candidate._

Aiura: More reliable, for sure, but Clairvoyance showed that she was currently on the other side of the school. She wouldn't get to him fast enough to make a difference. Even if she did, she'd probably run into the very girls he was trying to beat and tag along on the trip functioning as Teruhashi Kokomi version 2.

Saiki frowned, _No, just no._

In this case, the only one left was...

Good grief.

_'Toritsuka.'_

'_Eh? Saiki? What are you talking to me for? Where are you?'_

With a grimace, Saiki bit the bullet, '_How soon can you come to the classroom next to Matsuzaki sensei's office on the third floor?'_

Toritsuka's mind flurried through several unimportant details before settling down and responding, _'I mean,'_ he said like he was sulking, _'I'm kind of in the middle of something.'_

Clairvoyance showed Toritsuka in the middle of giving a female underclassman a spirit animal reading that she clearly did not want.

'_She looks traumatized._'

Toritsuka made a sound like a hit dog, '_You don't know that Saiki_,' he rebuffed, turning from the girl and focusing on their mental conversation. '_Just because I'm capable of successful social interactions, _unlike you_, doesn't mean that you have the right to insult me! Watch,' _he said, turning back around_, 'I'm going to — Hey! Where did she go?!'_

'_Classroom next to Matsuzaki-sensei's._' Saiki projected in response, apathetic to the missing girl, '_I'll do you one favor_.'

Toritsuka didn't respond and Saiki was getting desperate.

'…_Two._' Toritsuka's watery voice eventually replied a few seconds later, '_Two favors._'

Saiki weighed the situation, '_Alright.' _He relented,_ 'Two._'

The damp cloud that was Toritsuka's voice perked up slightly, _'Alright then. I'll see you soon Saiki.'_

_'Get here as soon as you can.' _Saiki repeated, trying to impress the point.

_'Uh-huh.'_

_'No detours.' _Saiki emphasized again.

_'Yes, yes, stop worrying, you taskmaster. I'm on my way right now.'_

_Good,_ Saiki thought to himself. Clairvoyance showed that the girls were nearing the second floor and Toritsuka was already on the third floor landing. At this rate, there was no way they were going to beat him to Matsuzaki-sensei's office. Saiki let himself smile slightly in victory. _Finally, something is going right._

Without wasting a second, he turned himself invisible and navigated around Hairo and his minions. From what he could see, it looked like they were building something wooden in one of the classrooms. In any case, he arrived to the empty classroom beside Matsuzaki-sensei's and set to wait. Toritsuka was due to arrive at any moment.

… But two minutes turned to three, and three minutes turned to four with no sign of the spirit medium at all. Where was he?

_'Toritsuka.' _Saiki projected to the medium. The psychic's stomach fell to his shoes when he felt the spirit medium's thoughts freeze.

'_Saiki! I ah... heh heh heh…'_

_'Where. Are you.' _Saiki ground out.

There was silence. '..._I got … lost…?_'

_For crying out loud._

Clairvoyance showed Toritsuka had found the girl he had been badgering earlier (she escaped towards the direction Matsuzaki-sensei's office, apparently) and she was with another girl. The allure of two girls must have been too much for Toritsuka and so…

Just then, in that same clairvoyant vision, Teruhashi and Chiyo passed the trio obliviously, still chatting to one another in excitement.

'_Of-fu._' Toritsuka projected inadvertently.

Saiki sent a wave of malice Toritsuka's way that had him crouching and covering his head like something was going to fall from the sky, '_Saiki nooo, wait I'm sorry! When I saw the girl, I thought that you had given me my first favor already and then I saw the other one and thought 'two? how did he know — !_'

'_You're dead._' Saiki interrupted.

'_Saiki!' _The gravity of the situation must have just hit the medium. The girls he'd been talking to had already escaped,_ 'Saiki, wait!_'

'_Dead._' Saiki repeated firmly, cutting off the rest of the medium's thoughts.

Saiki could do nothing as he watched the girls clairvoyantly get closer and closer to the office.

_There is still hope._ He thought as he watched the girls enter, view to the room clear from obstruction due to his X-Ray Vision. Matsuzaki-sensei was a strong teacher. One of his favorites. There was no way he could get lost in the charms of —

"Hello Matsuzaki-sensei!"

"Of-fu! Hello Teruhashi-san!"

_'...'_ Saiki.

_'…'_ Teruhashi.

_'…'_ Chiyo.

".. Ah!" Matsuzaki-sensei laughed in embarrassment, breaking the mental silence, "And Chiyo-san too! Sorry! How can I help you two?"

Chiyo was incensed, '_What kind of greeting — _'

But Saiki didn't care at that point. He felt the stress come over him in waves. Matsuzaki was compromised. The whole Game was out of his hands now.

_Oh, Toritsuka was _dead_._

"Chiyo-san told me there is some sort of trip happening this weekend?" Teruhashi explained, oblivious to the plight of the boy one classroom over, "Sign-ups end today, right?"

"A trip this weekend?" Matsuzaki questioned, rubbing his chin, "Oh, yes! You mean the manly excursion this Sunday? Yes, thats true."

Teruhashi, understandably, was confused, "What do you mean by, 'Manly Excursion'…?"

"Aheheh!" Chiyo laughed loudly, blocking any answers, "That's the exact trip we're talking about! Funny name, by the way! But you see, Kokomi and I wanted to join the - uh - the excursion!"

Matsuzaki-sensei looked uncomfortable, and Saiki's heart soared because of it, "Ah… well you see…"

A pause.

"The thing about that is…"

The track suit clad teacher crossed arms.

"..." Matsuzaki.

"…" Teruhashi.

"…" Chiyo.

'…' Saiki.

. . .

_…Don't tell me he isn't comfortable saying no. _Saiki thought exasperatingly.

The teacher was avoiding all forms of eye contact with his students, trying to keep his hands busy. He lifted them to the back of his head and started rubbing, finally speaking again, "It's just …"

There was another awkward silence. Saiki supposed that the allure of being present at the trip kept the girls rooted in front of their teacher because any lesser person would have just called it quits and gone home.

_Maybe he's concerned about us going, _Teruhashi thought innocently,_ Maybe I can convince him that we will be fine._

_No. _Saiki returned,_ that is _not_ what you should do. _But of course Teruhashi couldn't hear him and went for it anyway.

"We would love to go camping and experience what the outdoor has to offer." Teruhashi smiled brightly, really only trying to help,"I myself have never been camping before and I think it would be a great experience!"

The glow in the room intensified with her statement.

_Yes! Go Kokomi-chan! _Chiyo cheered. Though her pride was damaged from the beginning of the conversation, she was content with taking the back seat and letting the beauty work her magic.

The words didn't seem to help Matsuzaki-sensei at all, "Ah.. well.."

_Stay strong Matsuzaki sensei! _Saiki encouraged, _Just say no!_

"Matsuzaki-sensei?" Teruhashi asked, looking up at the professor, "Is there something wrong?"

_No!_ Chiyo thought.

_Yes!_ Saiki pushed.

"…" Matsuzaki-sensei's mind was blank. But then Saiki tensed at what he said next, _No, wait —_

"Alright, whatever." Came the teacher's defeated reply, he pulled out the roster sheet from a drawer in his desk with a sigh, "Sign your names here and I'll see you on Sunday."

"Yay!" Chiyo cheered.

"Thank you so much Matsuzaki-sensei!" Teruhashi enthused.

The sound of two clasped hands came together in celebration while the teacher shook his head and left the classroom mumbling, "I guess I should rename the trip…"

Back in the classroom, the girls had finished signing their names on the form, "We did it!" Chiyo exclaimed, "Good job Kokomi!"

"I didn't do anything," the girl reassured, as if completely unaware of her impact.

"… Could I…?" Came a new voice.

The group looked to the forgotten girl doing detention, "Huh, Mera-san? You want to join too?"

"Yes!" She nodded, seriously, "The vegetation there is said to be amazing! I called off of work this weekend because I wanted to go, but that caused me to be a bit stingy with food this week so..."

Chiyo's mouth dropped, "_That's_ why you stole people's food?! But what about the um …" here she looked at Teruhashi before she amended her original statement, "So I guess it's good we all get to go huh?"

"Yes!" Mera replied, writing her name, "Really Teruhashi-san, you're a miracle worker! Nothing I said would let him let me on!"

Teruhashi smiled, "Well, I'm sure Matsuzaki-sensei was just worried about us."

"Yes. Worried." Chiyo nodded, definitively.

"I'm surprised you're going though Teruhashi," Mera said, examining the roster, "After all the drama and scandal from the last trip we all took together, I would think you would have tried to avoid this one."

Saiki watched the blue haired girl's face heat up before she answered, "Y-yeah. I mean…" she looked down, clearly trying to chose the right words, "Scandals are nothing if you are able to hang out with people you really care about, right?" She said hesitantly, "And anyway, it's a nice change of pace to be with people who truly want nothing from you, but you. I'd field 1,000 scandals to be with people like that."

While Mera expressed how touched she was about Teruhashi's statement, Chiyo stood off to the side biting her lip. _Oh no, _she thought, looking at the blue haired girl guiltily, _What have I done? I used Kokomi for my personal benefit and _this_ is what she says? I thought she was joining because of Saiki, but she clearly must have joined because I listed almost everyone in the original group except for Saiko. _

The read head slumped sadly, and the girls by her looked like they didn't notice, _I wish I had known what you were thinking before, Kokomi, _Chiyo lamented,_ Maybe then I would have been more honest. Would you hate me if you found out what I did? Oh, why can't I read minds!_

From the classroom over, Saiki stood with crossed arms, unable to relate to Chiyo at all. She didn't know what she was wishing for.

Still, because he _could_ read minds, he knew that Chiyo didn't have anything to worry about at all. After all, Teruhashi had pieced together Chiyo's ruse just a few seconds after she interrupted her in the beginning of the conversation. Who did Chiyo think Teruhashi was? She was not so easily fooled.

Even with the knowledge that it was an all boy's trip, Teruhashi was deadset on going on the trip herself so keeping the feigned ignorance was more important than getting upset. While her speech in the end was genuine for sure, she knew exactly what she was saying and how she was saying it to effect Chiyo.

_Take that Chiyo! _Saiki heardthe blue hared beauty think with righteous vindication, completely aware of and enjoying the shroud that surrounded the red-head, _that'll teach you to try and manipulate me ever again!_

_Well played, Teruhashi, _Saiki thought, unable to stop himself from letting out a proud, faint smile.

The thing was that while Teruhashi had used the term "people" throughout her speech as if to reference a group and therefore manipulate Chiyo's emotions, she was only truly thinking of one person as she spoke. Almost all believable lies were grounded in some truth.

_This was the only way it was going to go anyway. _Saiki told himself, turning from the room and using Teleportation to go back to his room at home. He wasn't in the mood for anymore surprises, he'd just lost a Game after all.

Teruhashi was going on the trip and, just as he had predicted, the world didn't explode. No surprise there.

But, would you look at that, even with her confirmed attendance, nothing had happened to him either.

_You win this time,_ Saiki thought to the universe,_ I hate losing, so I will definitely win next time._

When Saiki walked past the mirror in his room to put his stuff away and pack, he didn't notice the slight smile on his face, still present from just after he'd read Teruhashi's mind.

( _Teruhashi Game 11. How badly do you want to spend a weekend alone with Saiki?_ )

It seemed that Teruhashi Kokomi had a few Games of her own.


	4. Chapter 4 - Interlude: Morning People

Thanks everyone for the favorites and alerts. :)

* * *

Saiki would sooner use his telepathic broadcast to normalize pigs flying before he ever called himself a morning person.

Blearily, he stared straight ahead as the sun barely rose from behind the trees. Stifling a yawn, he gripped the doorknob to his front door a little tighter as if the act would keep him from falling forward in exhaustion.

When it came to mornings, Saiki didn't understand the people, the concept of breakfast, the noisy birds, or Kaidou.

...At this very moment, he _especially_ didn't understand Kaidou. What was he even doing here?

Choosing to actually focus on the aforementioned blue haired boy standing in his doorway, the psychic frowned. Saiki's dream foretold that if he didn't open the door for Kaidou, he would have seriously injured himself due to a speeding car on his way back to wherever he came from. So here Saiki was at too-early-o'clock, hearing, but not listening to a single thing the wildly gesturing Kaidou was saying.

While Saiki would just _love_ to just tune in and hear what the boy was talking about, he couldn't quite manage the feat. As stated before, Saiki _wasn't a morning person_. He never had been. Sure, he could wake up and process things very quickly to stop bad premonitions from happening. But that required only the brain power used to solve problems. He could do that in his sleep (_ha ha ha_). But when it came to social interactions?

Saiki stared at Kaidou standing in his doorway.

_"_Saiki, saiki saiki saiki saiki saiki saiki saiki!_" _The blue haired boy stated with a flourish, as a car drove speedily past in the background "Saiki saiki saiki _saiki, _Saiki."

The barrage of "Saiki's" was the only thing he could hear coming from Kaidou's mouth.

It was the only thing he could hear out of most people's mouths until about 10 or 11 in the morning.

Blinking twice from the doorway, Saiki finally had enough of the onslaught of his own name and raised a hand to stop Kaidou mid-sentence. The action brought upon the desired effect as Kaidou's anxious flow immediately halted at the sight of the appendage.

Nodding in satisfaction, Saiki took a half step back into his house and closed the door.

_There._ Saiki thought with a small smile, clapping his hands together as if he had taken out the trash,_ That should do it._

Saiki wasn't even off the genkan before Kaidou was knocking on the door again.

"Ku-chan?" Saiki's mother called from the kitchen, "Who is it at the door?"

_'Salesman.'_ He responded automatically, ignoring the noise behind him. After their last ordeal with those scammers there was no way his mom would want to deal with them again. Kaidou would probably leave after not getting a response in a bit. After seeing the aforemented car go by without incident, Saiki determined that everything would be fine from this point forward.

"Oh!, the salesmen are back?" His mom wondered innocently, "And so early in the morning too… I guess they didn't learn their lesson the first time around."

Saiki would have left it like that - gone back under his covers to get more sleep - but he heard his mom's stray thought, _'I should teach them another lesson,_' that had him doing an abrupt about face back towards the door.

'_No need for that, mother_,' Saiki replied, grimacing at even the _thought_ of his mom finding out he shut the door in a 'friend's' face, '_I'll handle them.' _

As Saiki braced himself to open the door again for Kaidou, he saw his dad come down the stairs from the corner of his eye. Why was every one awake at nearly 7:00 am on a Saturday? What could be so important?

"_Saiki_?" His father exclaimed in surprise, putting his hands on his hips and letting out a grin, "Saiki saiki saiki saiki?!" When Saiki didn't reply, his father's smile started to fade, "Saiki," he repeated with more urgency "_Saiki saiki saiki saiki? Saiki?!_"

Saiki just ignored him. Upon opening the door again for Kaidou, the boy almost face planted in the entrance because of the sudden lack of support, "_Saiki!" _He shouted in an abused tone_. _

'_Yes,' _Saiki projected deadpan,_ 'So you've said.'_

With another about face, Saiki walked back into the house leaving the door open for Kaidou to follow. Taking the unspoken invitation, Kaidou followed the pink haired boy with a muted '_Saiki_' that sounded like a greeting. In following his friend, Kaidou entered the kitchen where Saiki was preparing what looked like a cup of coffee and the parents were speaking.

"Oh!" Kurumi announced in surprise, seeing Kaidou's entrance, "Kaidou-kun, what brings you here? Was that you at the door?"

"Saiki. Saiki saiki saiki saiki." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He looked tense like he always did when facing parents and wanted to make a good impression.

"Ahh I see!" Kurumi nodded, looking a little put out at Kaidou's response, "Ku-chan! You didn't tell us anything about this!"

'_About what._' Saiki demanded, using his pyrokenesis to get the water boiling faster.

"Saiki saiki." His dad replied, his mom nodding in agreement.

Not for the first time, Saiki's default response was just to stare. Father frowned at son until Kurumi came to the rescue, "Ah, is that your first cup of coffee today, Saiki?"

Saiki looked to his mother and nodded.

"Ah.." she said, hand on chin, "And I suppose it _is_ only 7 in the morning..."

Saiki didn't nod this time. How could she only _just now_ realize the ungodly hour everyone was up at?

His dad eyes watered, "Saiki! Saiki saiki saiki saiki, Saikiiii~?"

The psychic rolled his eyes at his dad's theatrics while his mom stroked his shoulder, "I'm sure there is a very good reason why he blocks you out in the morning, Papa." She comforted, "Oh Ku-chan… what are we going to do with you?"

Saiki just blinked slowly and sipped at his cup of (_finally_) made coffee.

"_Saiki _Saiki saiki saiki_ saiki!_" his father lamented.

"I'm sure he had his reasons dear."

"Saiki saiki saiki saiki saiki….?" Kaidou asked, looking his own version of a little confused and hurt.

While his dad wept in Greviously-Insulted, his mom smiled placatingly at Kaidou, "Its nothing you did dear. In the mornings Saiki has somewhat selective hearing. It takes a bit for him to take everything in. Think of it as conscious sleepwalking... or maybe sleep-listening?"

"Saiki saiki saiki saiki saiki!" Kaidou stated, his tone sounded like it was enlightened.

"Yes, it is the most peculiar thing."

Saiki gave his mom a _look_ because 'sleepwalking' or... 'sleep-listening' as she put it, was definitely _not_ the term he would use to describe the phenomenon and this was _definitely not_ the most peculiar thing he has ever done.

Saiki didn't know where it came from, really. He hated mornings ever since he was a child. Something about it made him feel like there was cotton growing from his eyes and ears. Maybe it was a result of using too much or too little power the day before or maybe it was just his mental faculties acting up. Whatever it was, he hadn't been bothered enough to test it since that would require purposefully waking up early and interacting with people. NO thanks.

What he did know was that of all the people he encountered in these morning situations, he was only ever able to understand his mother. That's how it always has been, and so, he assumed, it always would be.

In general when he was like this, he could either try his best to avoid people until he fully 'woke up' (usually impossible with people he was acquainted with), Or he could be proactive and do the next best thing...

He sipped the liquid gold in his hands and savored the taste before swallowing. He already felt his mind buzzing with the intake.

Coffee.

Coffee was like the key that turned the motor in his brain. If he drank the coffee in the mornings, then his bouts of incomprehension were allayed.

And therein lay the magic. No one really questioned why Saiki enjoyed coffee jelly so much, and Saiki never told anyone the real reason. Yes, it was decadent and tasted heavenly, but it also was a wonderful recharge treat he craved after exhausting a lot of his social batteries. Coffee in its purest form was good and it worked fast, but it usually left him with a crash once it was out of his system. Coffee Jelly on the other hand was gentle in its support - sweet snd effective, without being too overwhelming. Nothing beat the experience of indulging in a delicious coffee dessert in silence.

He sipped from the cup in his hands and imagined that it was the other treat before tuning back into the conversation in front of him.

"Anyway, Ku-chan, why didn't you tell us you were going camping today?" His mom asked, leaving behind the social niceties and returning to the topic at hand, "Kaidou came all this way to fetch you to meet with the others."

'_Camping?_' Saiki repeated, feeling his stomach sink as the missing puzzle piece of why Kaidou was here finally slid into place. Good grief. He didn't want to go camping. Was it too late to say he was too sick to go?

"Saiki saiki saiki saiki." Kaidou explained.

"_Three_ PE grades?" his mom exclaimed with a hand flying to her mouth, "Oh Saiki, can you really afford those?"

Good grief.

"Saiki saiki saiki, Saiki?" Kaidou asked.

"Are you packed for the trip?" His mom repeated.

Saiki thought about his backpack upstairs and nodded. He was happy he had the foresight to do that beforehand at least.

"Well go ahead," his mom encouraged, "Go and grab your stuff so you don't keep your friends waiting for you!"

Saiki swallowed the rest of his coffee (_third cup!_) and he felt the haze recede from his mind. Turning around to go upstairs, Saiki could actually make out a few words from Kaidou now like, "Camping" and "Apologies."

He had some misgivings leaving his parents with Kaidou. They could be their own brand of strange when left to their own devices. He bristled as he remembered his parents slip-up during one New Years where they revealed to his friends' classmates he had powers. He moved faster when he thought about the poor coverup they tried to do & even faster when he thought of the potential damage they could do right now. _Best not leave them alone too long, Good grief._

On his way back down, Saiki knew the coffee had done its job because he could hear Kaidou speaking in full sentences now.

"I already texted everyone and told them we had to go today, but I didn't have Saiki's number so I had to come in person!" he explained.

Saiki could hear the proud smile in his mom's voice, "That's so nice. My son is lucky to have a friend like you!"

"Its nothing, honest," Kaidou laughed as he rubbed his neck again in embarrassment, "But I _was_ wondering if I could have Saiki's phone number. It would make things like this easier in the future!"

Saiki sighed, ready to handle the situation. '_I don't have a phone,_' he explained simply, as he reached the bottom stair.

For some infernal reason, Kaidou's mouth dropped open in surprise and there was an awkward silence. Obviously his parents were not made of the same stuff as Teruhashi and Chiyo because before he could stop their crazy plans, they were already speaking to fill the awkward silence.

"His phone broke," his mom tried.

"He's in-between carriers." His dad offered at the same time.

The parents looked at each other while Saiki simply stared impassively ahead.

In the end, Kaidou just looked unsure of himself.

Choosing not to address the issue, Saiki changed the subject, '_Are we going?_'

Kaidou blinked, the previous confusion momentarily forgotten in exchange for the excitement of the trip, "Um, yeah! I mean, only if you're ready, that is?"

Ready was such a relative term.

'_I'll need one more thing._' Saiki sighed, already on his way to the kitchen to grab one more cup of coffee to go.

"Okay," Kaidou smiled. His phone chimed with a message and his face broke into a grin when he looked at it, "Looks like everyone is on their way now. It's just us left!"

Saiki sighed again. He tried to hold it off as many chapters as possible, but it looks like he really _was_ going camping. Good grief. What good could really come from of a psychic walking into a forest?


	5. Chapter 5: The Phone Call

Thank again for the responses! :) This one's a bit rough so I might make some edits later. I just wanted to get something out there because its been a while.

So... Let's (finally) get camping!

* * *

Well… the gang's all here.

After getting a 6am call from Chiyo (who had gotten a 5am call from Kaidou (who had...)

...Actually, no one really knew who Kaidou was contacted by.)

In any case, the news was that the group needed to be at the park entrance by 8am. For someone who tried to look and be ready for anything, it was a bit short notice for Kokomi.

As the incarnation of perfection itself, she didn't look it on on the outside (geared in a comfortable t-shirt, shorts, sneakers, hat, and backpack that contained all her useful items for the trip.), but on the inside she was completely frazzled. Yesterday she was so excited for the trip, she barely netted 3.5 hours hours of sleep.

After school, Kokomi spent all her time researching all that camping entailed. She went from store to store buying the necessary materials for the trip. Even when she exhausted and packed all the items she could buy, she was in bed, looking at various websites in the dark that gave her tips on how to potentially snag Saiki's attention. She should have known better than to stay up so late.

She didn't regret any of her actions because if she hadn't done all of that yesterday, she would have been grievously unprepared for this morning. But still!

Nendou had apparently been the first to arrive, then Kuboyasu, followed by herself and Chiyo together, and then Kaidou and Saiki. With all of them finally gathered like this, the trip felt almost overwhelmingly real.

Normally Teruhashi didn't participate in activities like this. Not due to cleanliness or potential scandals, but because of the company. Being who she was, she didn't have anyone to do these types of activities with. This year was the first year she had people to hang out after school who weren't simply after her for her looks or sometimes her brother.

_Imagine_, she thought, _camping with her fan club - or even with her brother!_ Her mind spazzed at the horror_._

Looking at the ragtag group in front of her, Kokomi couldn't help but feel… something. A mix of companionship, eagerness, and safety. She was always on guard (as a perfect pretty girl, she had to be) but here, she could put some of those walls down. She could almost feel what it was like to be a normal girl with normal friends who did normal things. She loved it.

_Normality,_ Teruhashi smiled, as she snuck quick glance at the object of her affections, _who knew that it could be so nice?_

Everyone was waiting at the entrance of the park. She was currently right by Saiki who had taken to leaning on the fence and reading what looked to be like a mystery novel she didn't recognize. All they needed now was for Matsuzaki-sensei to show up and then the trip could officially begin.

"What do you think is holding him?" Chiyo asked from the ground, using a stick to draw patterns in the dirt as they waited.

And there-in lied the problem. It had been an hour since the rendezvous time and there was no sign of the gym teacher. It was a little odd.

"Do you think he stopped to get ramen?" Nendou asked. Mera perked up at the name of the dish.

"I'm sure he will be on his way very soon." Kuboyasu said, scrutinizing a map of the park. He didn't look too concerned.

They had almost returned to the comfortable, waiting silence before she heard a soft sigh come from Saiki's direction followed by an ominous dark chuckle shortly after.

"Heh heh heh heh heh..."

Under the shadiest tree in the clearing, Kaidou leaned against the trunk with his head bent and a hand to his forehead. It was a strange sight because he also had a fairly large sunhat on his head that covered his eyes and most of his face. It was mysterious, but in a strange, banal sort of way.

"It's quite obvious what happened to Matsuzaki-sensei." He said in a deep voice, looking up seriously, "He went ahead to scout out the campsite and then _they_ got him."

Only Chiyo, ever so patient with her crush, took the bait, "The Dark Reunion, Kaidou-kun?"

"Who else?" He replied as if the answer was obvious, "_They_ have Matsuzaki-sensei!"

"That's not good news" Nendou observed, smacking a fist into an open palm, "We have to save him then!"

Kuboyasu raised a placating hand, "Now guys, let's not jump to any conclusions. Since it looks like we're getting restless, let's just call sensei and see what's up. Didn't he give his number to one of you?"

Everyone looked at each other uneasily except for Saiki who'd abandoned his novel to stare impassively at the sky.

"_No one_ managed to get sensei's number?" Kuboyasu asked again with more alarm, looking frantically over the small group.

Everyone continued to look at each other. Saiki continued to look at the sky.

Kuboyasu was apoplectic,"_Not _one_ of you —_ ?!"

"Oh!" Nendou interrupted suddenly with a jolt, "I have his number!"

While Kuboyasu sagged in relief, Chiyo frowned, "Why didn't you say so the first time Kuboyasu asked for it?!"

Nendou shrugged, "I didn't understand what he was asking for at first. I just got it now."

Chiyo still looked put out, but Kuboyasu, used to Nendou's antics, simply sighed and motioned Nendou to come closer so they could contact their teacher. While this was happening, Chiyo took the opportunity to approach a muttering Kaidou in the shaded trees and Mera looked to be sniffing some mushrooms by the park entrance sign.

Kokomi smiled secretly, _It looks like everyone's occupied except — !_

Before she could even complete her thought, Saiki breezed passed her and walked towards Kuboyasu and Nendou.

_No! What?!_

"Aaah! Saiki-kun!" She blurted out, grabbing his sleeve and effectively stopping the boy. She felt him stiffen under her grasp before turning in her direction.

"I.. um," Kokomi could feel the heat rushing into her face. _What now, genius?_

She'd only wanted to stop him, she didn't think any further than that "Are you going over to help them?" She ended up asking, motioning to Nendou and Kuboyasu. While the question itself was quite valid, she still smacked herself mentally for asking it. Of _course_ that was what he was going to do! He wasn't going to all of a sudden teleport to the campsite!

Saiki didn't really answer her and instead glanced back at the two boys who did in fact look like they were needing some assistance.

"I'll come with you!" She declared with a smile that she hoped did not show her nervousness. Offering help was a perfectly logical thing to do in this situation for both the group and herself.

( So why did she feel so foolish? )

Saiki stared at her hand on his sleeve and she quickly let him go, "Sorry!" She apologized but he simply sighed and started moving again, this time with her sheepishly in tow.

"How hard is it to recite 10 numbers!" Kuboyasu yelled as they arrived, "Are the last two digits 89 or 23?!"

Nendou frowned, "I said they were 23."

"I tried that and it didn't work!"

"Then do 89!" Nendou shouted back as if Kuboyasu was the slow one. Kokomi's quick glimpse to Saiki yielded him making the face she called the "S.O.S." It was quite sad.

Still, Kuboyasu dialed the number as Nendou directed, tapping his foot as they waited, "At least this time the phone's —"

_Ring, ring, ring!_

At the sound of the ringtone everyone froze. The sound emanated from somewhere around Kaidou and kept going until Kuboyasu's call went to voicemail.

Kuboyasu chuckled nervously to the group, "What a coincidence." He said, breaking the tense silence, "Matsuzaki-sensei didn't pick up when I called. Let me just... try calling again."

But sure enough when Kuboyasu re-dialed the number, the same ringing by Kaidou started up too. Everyone, even Saiki, looked shocked at the revelation.

Running to the bushes, Kaidou turned pale as he pulled out a thin black cell phone from the foliage. His mouth dropped open when he looked at the screen. Slowly (with probably more drama than was necessary) he turned the phone to the group where all could see Kuboyasu's face as the contact picture. Right then the call then went to voicemail, turning the screen black.

"I knew it." The white haired boy said solemnly, looking pained, "This must be… Matsuzaki's phone..."

"Why would it be there?" Mera asked, "It doesn't make sense…"

Kaidou looked serious, "The Dark Reunion." This time when Kaidou said the phrase, it was met with a silence just as serious.

Kokomi wasn't an expert on "Dark Reunion" matters, but she was fairly certain that it was one of Kaidou's favorite catchall phrases for things he didn't quite understand. There was no way.

But no, from Kokomi's perspective, even Saiki looked to be taking this seriously, standing off to the side with his hand on his chin deep in thought.

She opened her mouth to offer a suggestion, but she choked on her words due to the shock of seeing Saiki cross his eyes together in intense concentration.

_What is he doing?_ Teruhashi thought, looking at her crush in obvious shock while the others discussed the phone. _Is he okay?_

Not too soon after that weird action though, Saiki rolled his eyes and turned to go back to get his book bag from the ground where he stood initially. Then of all things, he started to return to where the busses initially dropped them off, clearly leaving them behind.

_He's leaving? _Kokomi blinked rapidly, completely thrown, _"_Sai -_ "_

"Oi, Aibou!" Nendou interrupted, apparently noticing Saiki's actions as well, "Where are you going? You can't leave us now! We have to find Matsuzaki-sensei!"

_'He's fine,'_ the pink haired boy replied immediately, not even stopping to turn around. _'He's fine and I'm going home.'_

"He's _fine_?" Kokomi echoed, unable to be a bystander any longer, "How do you even know that?"

For some reason, Saiki stopped at this declaration, but didn't reply. Slowly - ever so slowly - he turned back around and rejoined their circle, staring hard at the phone in Kaidou's hand. It didn't look like he was "going home" any longer.

_What in the world._ Teruhashi thought, the panic at the near disappearance of the only reason she was here easing._ What was going on with him?_

"What if sensei left the phone here as a warning?" Kaidou suggested, frowning at the device, "Maybe he will contact us with further instructions the closer we get to finding him?"

Mera finally came closer pointing at the device as Kaidou raised it showing the notifications, "It looks like he has already gotten some messages, see?"

"You're right Mera-san!" Kaidou said with an enthusiasm that was a little too much for someone whose teacher had supposedly been kidnapped. "The very first message was sent over an hour ago. It's from… _The Dark Reunion?!_"

"You must be kidding." Kokomi said skeptically.

"No, I'm not," Kaidou replied, turning the phone around to show everyone, "See?!"

Sure enough, there the notification was in all its unread glory and the sender definitely was _The Dark Reunion_.

Kokomi was starting to feel a bit faint.

"What does it say?" Mera asked.

"It says, 'I'll meet you at the campsite.'" Kaidou read out loud.

"He's at the campsite?!" Chiyo asked, affronted.

"That does it." Kuboyasu said seriously, finally speaking up since the initial shock, "I don't know how I didn't see it before, but this whole thing is a challenge. This starting point, that phone... Matsuzaki-sensei left this for us and we would be cowards if we didn't take him up on it."

Chiyo shook her head, "Matsuzaki-sensei was very clear that this wasn't a trip we could do alone."

Kuboyasu rolled his eyes, "If you need someone to hold your hand Chiyo _— _"

"I don't need _that, _Kuboyasu! I'm just saying _—_ "

"You're always 'just saying'," the purple haired boy retorted, "The time for words are over! It's time for action!"

"Action?!" Chiyo threw back, "You're _delusional_ _—_ "

"Guys," Kokomi interrupted, "I'm pretty sure fighting isn't going to solve anything at this point, right?"

Her words got the two hot heads quiet, but they were still shooting each other lightning bolts with their eyes.

Kaidou was muttering with the phone trying to unlock it, "It's no use. I can't get into it."

"If we have any chance of finding sensei, its only if we leave now while its still morning." Mera said, "It's clear Matsuzaki-sensei isn't here and if we wait, we can quickly lose sunlight and miss out on the vegetation the forest has to offer."

Somehow, even with all those words, it was glaringly clear what Mera's motivations were

Kokomi watched Saiki raise his hands in a gesture that looked like he was adjusting his glasses, but in reality he was pinching the bridge of his nose. It seemed the situation required more than the "S.O.S."

_Maybe he has a headache?_ She wondered to herself. _Maybe that's why he was going to storm off to go home earlier._ The beauty beamed, _I can help with that!_

"I'm sure we will find Matsuzaki-sensei and reach the campsite in no time!" Kokomi encouraged giving her most winning smile in Saiki's general direction.

"Of-fu" said Kaidou.

"Of-fu" said Kuboyasu.

"Of-fu" said Nendou.

"..." said Saiki.

Kokomi's smile strained as Saiki stared blankly back at her, neither smiling or gasping in reaction.

_How?!_

Still, the smile did what it was supposed to do and geared the other boys up to implement their plans of action.

Kuboyasu punched a hand to his fist, "The manly excursion has only just begin!"

"Yes!" Cheered Mera, Kaidou, and Nendou.

Because Kuboyasu spent the most time studying the map, he started them off as the group leader.

"To save sensei from the Dark Reunion!" Kaidou yelled running ahead of the pack (but never ahead of Kuboyasu).

"Yes!" Nendou and Mera cheered, following Kaidou.

Chiyo sighed, but walked with the group as she was clearly outnumbered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Given that it was just her and Saiki left, Kokomi felt like she had to say something, "Its gearing up to be quite the adventure huh, Saiki?"

'_Quite._' Saiki replied shortly, brushing passed her to follow the others.

To not be left behind Kokomi sulked last. So far she had been disappointed a lot by Saiki, so one more disappointment wasn't all that bad. But this whole affair had her having second thoughts. Was this such a good idea after all? Should she try to feign a headache so she could go home and try her luck with Saiki again next week?

She shook her head to dispel the negativity. No. The trip only just begun. She had 48 hours to spend with her crush and get him to notice her. She wouldn't give up right at the start. What did she think she was fighting for?

It surprised her then to hear Saiki in front of her let out a huff that sounded a bit like laughter. She looked around but didn't see anything that could inspire it. _Maybe just an internal thing,_ She dismissed, coming up with more plans as they walked into the woods.

[ _Good grief, she just doesn't give up, does she?_ ]


	6. Chapter 6: Short Circuit

I don't mean to take so long. :(

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the favorites, alerts, and the reviews! They really make me smile and give me more motivation to keep going..

UPDATE: I... have... fan art... *faints*

I'm not sure how linking works on here, but its on instagram. ...Let me get the permission of the artist one sec.

* * *

It was quiet.

Actually, no. Saiki could still hear everyone's thoughts, so quiet wasn't the term he would use for this situation but whatever. The point was made. No one was actually talking right now.

After the initial excitement that came with the discovery of Matsuzaki-sensei's cell phone in the bushes, it seemed that everyone was lost in their own thoughts as they continued towards the campsite. Everyone's morale was more or less the same except for Mera's, who was becoming more hungry, and Kaidou, who Saiki had on a repeating 10 minute timer that currently had around 7 minutes left.

Under different circumstances, even with all the thought pollution, the hike might have actually been rather peaceful. But with all Saiki knew, the whole thing felt more annoying than anything else.

They were currently on their way to "save Matsuzaki-sensei from the dastardly clutches of the Dark Reunion."

...Admirable.

Now, did Matsuzaki-sensei _actually_ need saving?

... No.

Good grief, how did he keep getting _into_ these situations?

He himself wasn't quite sure how Matsuzaki-sensei's cell phone ended up in the bushes, but when he used Clairvoyance earlier to find the man, he didn't see a teacher in need of rescue - he saw a teacher in need of an alarm clock. Matsuzaki-sensei was in a deep, deep sleep and unless the he was hiding his own powers of Teleportation, there was no way he was going to "meet them at the campsite" before they arrived. It was impossible.

But unless he wanted to kick the door to _The Forbidden Conversation_ wide open — which he definitely _did_ _not _want to do, thank you very much — he couldn't say a word.

So here they were bright and early on a Saturday morning, on their way to save a teacher who couldn't care less that they were conscious let alone roaming an empty forest looking for his ridiculous campsite. What a time to be alive.

_Kaidou timer: Six minutes. _

_Roll Call: Teruhashi, Kaidou, Kuboyasu, Chiyo, Mera, and Nendou. Check._

He toyed with the idea of leaving them. After all, the last thing he wanted to do on any weekend was go on this fool's errand. But Saiki was 99.99% sure that if he left the group to their own devices at any point on this trip, they would find some way to make him regret it - _accidentally_.

So as it stood, roaming the forest with them was the best course of action until he could come up with a better idea.

Good grief. Saiki wished that he could just teleport them all to the campsite and forego this colossal waste of time, but of course making it to the location so quickly would definitely arouse suspicion within the group. Even if it didn't, to use Teleportation effectively, he had to have a clear mental image of his desired destination. Being that he's never been to this campsite before, there was only so much imagining a wide clearing surrounded by trees could do.

So how does one safely return a group of idiots to civilization without arousing them to his psychic abilities? The Grand Question. Saiki wished he could say he was devoting all his brain energy into answering it, but it was hard to effectively plan when you had to essentially babysit 4 infants at the same time.

He had to admit though, wrangling the idiots wasn't so bad considering he'd somehow gained an unexpected partner-in-crime in keeping everyone together.

_Kaidou timer; Five minutes. _

_Roll Call: Kaidou, Kuboyasu, Chiyo, Teruhashi, Mera, and Nendou. Check._

'_Oh!' _Mera mentally cried out in joy,_ 'I know this flower! It makes the best sleepy time tea! I just _have_ to grab some…! I'll be really quick!_'

_And there she goes…_

As the group meandered on, Saiki stopped to wait for Mera to finish grabbing her flowers. He learned that with her, one flower can lead to two and then more if someone wasn't there to monitor her foraging. The group, oblivious to Mera's detour, continued walking…

...For a little while anyway.

"Ah!" Teruhashi exclaimed, stopping in place. Her exclamation caused several eyes to look to her and several feet to gradually stop. Seemingly oblivious to the effect of her outburst, Teruhashi pointed at a tree in front of her.

"This," she said very decisively, "This is a very nice tree."

"... This one?" Kuboyasu asked her, after a measured silence, his finger indicating the tree she was obviously pointing at.

"Yes." Teruhashi nodded, "That very one."

"There are lots of trees here, Kokomi," Chiyo replied, puzzled, "What makes that one so special?"

Teruhashi looked up and to the right, putting on a face that said, '_I'm thinking_', "I don't know, Chiyo... Its just... _greener_ than the others. Don't you see it?"

The excuse could have been better, Saiki had to admit, but everyone now was focused on the tree their resident beauty found fascinating. Kaidou and Nendou were actually scrutinizing the tree trying to see what she was talking about. Chiyo and Kuboyasu were looking at the tree very skeptically unsure of the validity of her statement.

Mera was still foraging.

_Timer paused._

"I do see what you mean, Teruhashi," Kaidou finally replied sagely, nodding, "It truly does stand out from the rest. How bright. How immaculate. You've got a good eye for this kind of stuff. This is the third one today!"

Teruhashi simply smiled brightly in response.

"Oh Mera, did you find another one?" Chiyo asked, finally seeing the other girl crouched on the ground. She didn't want to hurt Teruhashi's feelings for not being able to see what she (and apparently Kaidou!) so easily saw in the normal-looking tree, so her wandering eyes drew her to the crouching girl.

"I did!" Mera replied in surprise, standing with her prizes, "I didn't know you guys were waiting for me! Thank you! You didn't have to!"

"Waiting? We weren't -" Kuboyasu cut himself off and puffed out a gust of hot air, unable to stay mad at the blue-haired beauty, "Well? Are we done with the tree?"

Teruhashi nodded several times very quickly.

"Alright," Kuboyasu nodded back, turning back towards the hike, "Let's go."

And they continued on towards the campsite.

As a group.

Saiki smiled.

Yes, he had his issues with Teruhashi. But let it never be said that he didn't think that she was intelligent in her own right. No, he didn't understand why she was fixated on him. But in this situation, and the others like it, she was useful. Not once did he have to explain what he was doing to her. He hadn't even breathed a word about making sure everyone remained altogether! Yet somehow she just knew.

And that ... was nice. He snuck a glance at the blue haired girl and he found her glancing at a small notebook with pages filled with her own handwriting. Maybe Teruhashi wasn't so bad after all.

_Timer resumed. Four minutes 29 seconds. Kaidou, Kuboyasu, Chiyo, Teruhashi, Mera —_

"It's... _nice_ of you, you know?"

Ah. He knew it. Of _course_ he spoke too soon. Good grief. Why was she trying to start a conversation _now_?

He knew though, at the very least, he owed her a response given all the help she was offering. So he mustered all his agreeableness into one projection and let the ball roll, '_What is?_' He asked.

"You know…" she said, looking up at him with a small smile, "Making sure we're all together and that none of us wanders off too far from the group." At his lack of reaction, Teruhashi cleared her throat quickly, "I mean, I wasn't sure you were doing it at first when Kaidou saw that bird in the tree the first time. But then you stopped Chiyo from going into the forest, and Nendou when he tried to talk to the chipmunk ..."

Saiki was grateful that Nendou had decided to speak with the chipmunk that time. The tiny animal's fearful thoughts were the only indication that Nendou had done any detours. He resolved since then to keep a closer eye on their village idiot.

"... I mean, I don't know if stopping everyone is the best course of action since Kuboyasu seems to be getting a bit impatient.. "

_'We could just let them wander off.' _he replied back with a shrug.

'No, no!" Teruhashi shook her head, flushing apparently at his use of "we," "It's best we all stick together. So it's a good thing I guess. I just don't want him exploding because we stopped so much, is all." Teruhashi seemed to realize she was rambling and reddened, "Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks."

Saiki 'hmmed' in response. Due to his mind reading, Saiki already knew that Teruhashi appreciated his part in making sure the group stayed together so technically she didn't have to come out and say it. But since Teruhashi _couldn't_ read minds she didn't know he was also grateful for her help.

Well, he might as well make his appreciation known too. What could it hurt?

'_Thank you too._'

Teruhashi blinked rapidly, "Ah.. what?"

'_For helping._' Saiki clarified,'_I haven't been doing this on my own after all. So thank you._'

And then, to Saiki's shock, Teruhashi's normally tranquil mind turned into a whirlwind.

"You noticed?" She squeaked in response, "I mean," she cleared her throat, "I guess you noticed. But I just - I mean -" Apparently her words were very reflective of her state of her mind. She was making a valiant effort to keep cool though, Saiki had to admit, "I don't do much," she settled on, "I just.. I just don't know how you do it so quickly! I mean I only help a little because I notice you stopping first but it's like you know what someone is thinking of doing before they even do it! It's kind of insane!"

'_Its a gift._' he responded, automatically. If there was a camera, he'd be looking into it.

"No kidding," she laughed, extremely elated by his appreciation for some reason, as her mind settled down, "Thanks for using it on us, really."

They continued on for a bit in silence, but Saiki could tell the conversation wasn't over.

"You know…" she said quietly, strategically looking hard at her book to avoid looking at directly him (_why didn't she want to look at him? it didn't make sense_), "I don't mean this in a bad way, but sometimes it's hard to get a read on you, cause you're very independent. You don't seem to need us, so I wonder sometimes why you hang out with us at all."

Saiki thought that was an apt observation, and one he often wondered himself. He _didn't_ need this group, so why he allowed himself to be tortured...

"But," Teruhashi continued, oblivious to his silent musings, "When you do things like this - making sure none of us gets lost," she clarified, eyes flickering his way for a second, "It just kind of shows how cool of a person you really are and how much you actually _do_ care about us." Teruhashi smiled up at him, "So really, thank you, Saiki! You're really nice!"

...

_Pzzzt. _

Saiki felt his mind short circuit.

Feeling more than a little thrown at the honesty in her words, Saiki was trying very hard to get his mind to reboot.

_Cool? _

_Nice? _

_Him? _

She clearly didn't know what she was talking about. Why was she smiling so big for something that wasn't even true? Saiki really didn't care about any one them at all, he was just… he was just …

( _Saiki couldn't figure out what he was just_ )

Saiki was no stranger to silence, but for the first time, probably _ever_, Saiki noticed the silence between himself and Teruhashi had gone on a little too long. He didn't have the faintest idea of what to say to fix it. The smile on Teruhashi's face was freezing at the awkwardness setting metaphorical camp between them and Saiki realized he needed to say something back. Quick.

Saiki pointed to Kaidou. It was the first thing his rebooted mind could come up with. Which was stupid.

Teruhashi blinked in surprise, "Kaidou? What about him?"

Saiki wasn't sure what to say next._ 'Just watch.' _he settled on.

Teruhashi looked at him a little strangely, but turned to look to Kaidou, "Okay..."

He lifted three fingers where both of them could see and dropped them one by one as his rebooted timber counted down. Thankfully still accurate.

_3…_

_2…_

_1… Action._

"Ne, Aren," Kaidou started, right on time, "are we there yet?"

( Even with a warning, Teruhashi started a little at the timeliness of Kaidou's question. )

An aggravated sigh blew from the ex-gang member's lips, "I don't know, Kaidou. Does it _look_ like we've arrived?"

Kaidou scratched his chin, "Well… _no_, but — "

"Then I guess you know your answer," Kuboyasu interrupted, cool as a cucumber, "Now stop asking."

The pseudo silence reigned once again.

"Well…are we _almost_ there yet?"

The cucumber snapped.

"Kaidou!" Kuboyasu yelled, pointing his tightly clenched map at the white haired teen, "If you ask that question _one more time I'll_ — !"

Abruptly Kuboyasu cut himself off and tried to visibly calm down. It took a few breaths and many mental calming repetitions ('_I've changed now. Kaidou is a friend._'), but, commendably, it happened.

"We," Kuboyasu started in a marginally calmer voice, "Have had this exact conversation _five times_ since we entered the forest, Kaidou. _Five!_"

Kaidou seemed to shrink into himself at the scolding, "I mean, we _have_ been walking for forever, Aren. That's not that many times, considering."

"Considering _what_, Kaidou? Its only been an_ hour!_ You've asked the same question _five times_ in _one hour_!"

Kaidou gaped at the navigator, "There's no way it's only been one hour, Kuboyasu! It's been at _least _2! Maybe 3!"

Saiki sighed at the exchange. At least it had Teruhashi's attention and it drew him back to what was important. He needed to make sure everyone was together. _Not_ he told himself fiercely, because he cared, but because there was no telling what would happen if they got split up. More problems for him, no doubt.

...In any case, Kuboyasu and Kaidou were accounted for. Next?

"Kuboyasu's right, Kaidou-kun," Chiyo remarked, looking at her phone on which a workout activity was running, "It's only been about An hour and 10 minutes since we started the hike."

Kaidou looked heartbroken, "That's… impossible…"

_And yet, here we are. _Saiki thought dispassionately, _Chiyo is accounted for._

"I think that Kaidou has a point." Mera announced coming to a stop, "We've been walking so long and we haven't taken any breaks."

"Are you tired, Mera?" Teruhashi asked, ever so politely. She had a good poker face considering she was slightly amused at having been privy to the very beginning of the breakdown. Mera, and obviously Teruhashi, were easily accounted for.

"I'm not tired necessarily," Mera assured the group, "I'm just hungry."

Chiyo looked at the red-headed girl in confusion, "But you've been eating all those protein bars this whole time since we started Mera. You're still hungry?"

Mera looked into her backpack forlornly, "I underestimated the quality of readily edible vegetation here and didn't pack enough to eat."

Teruhashi came closer and peered curiously into the backpack. Her face morphed from carefully neutral to overwhelmingly shocked, "Mera-chan! There are at least 40 empty protein bar wrappers here!"

"I told you," Mera said, shaking her head woefully, "I didn't pack enough."

The group collectively sent Mera a concerned stare. As she was still staring mournfully into her bag, it went completely ignored.

_"_W-well…_" _Teruhashi let out, "I packed some extra snacks if you'd like to share?"

With stars in her eyes, Mera turned to Teruhashi, "I would _love_ that!"

"Does that mean we're stopping here for a bit?" Chiyo asked, looking to their unofficial leader.

Kuboyasu sighed, "If we really want to, here's as good a place as any."

Saiki had to admit he wasn't upset at taking a break. He didn't need one necessarily, but as he was currently working at being the group's head counter he liked that he didn't have to probe everyone mentally every 10 minutes to know they were still around.

Though as the psychic stretched his body, something felt off.

Before he could examine it further, Kuboyasu continued talking. "I guess it's good that we're resting now since it's only supposed to get even steeper from here."

"That's actually kind of crazy because we are pretty high up already." Chiyo observed looking around them in appreciation.

"It's true," Teruhashi smiled, prompting a quick appreciative glance at their surroundings. "I think we've been making great progress overall!"

Kuboyasu made a noise of agreement, "_Annoying inquiries not withstanding," _(a pointed look in Kaidou's oblivious direction), "Yes, we are doing very well. But if we want to get to the campsite quickly on the most optimal path, we have to keep going higher."

"Wow! Even higher than this?" Chiyo asked, making a face, "I think Kaidou was asking a good question then. How much longer do we have to keep going for?"

Kuboyasu popped his map open, consulting it like a professional, "Based on our pace and what it says here, its not too far. I'd wager it'd take us a good 3 to 3.5 more hours of hiking from here to get to our destination."

Everyone paused.

'_Wait —_'

"HOLD on, _wait_ a minute — "

"I'm _so_ sorry, did you just say — "

"Hahahah! This joke is so — "

"Ah ! Another mushroom — "

"GUYS!" Kuboyasu yelled, reining in the group, "What's the big idea? Why are you all freaking out right now?"

"You _just_ said we had to hike for another _3_ to _3.5_ _hours_," Chiyo answered in shock, "Why aren't _you_ more alarmed!"

Kuboyasu shook his head, "When Matsuzaki-sensei said we would be going on a manly excursion, I knew we had to prepare for the hike of our lives! What? Did you think this would be some sort of walk in the park?"

Teruhashi winced, "Well if you want to get technical..."

Chiyo couldn't find any words and instead sulked, '_What did I sign up for?!'_ She mentally lamented.

Saiki pinched the bridge of his nose. At least, she _chose_ to _sign up for it_.

Kuboyasu shook his head, "I mean, you guys can always go home if you really don't want to keep going."

_Yes._

"No!"

When Kuboyasu mentioned the duration of the hike, Kaidou looked like he was ready to give up the ghost. But now with the threat of returning home, it looked like he was shaping up slightly, "We can't leave Matsuzaki-sensei to the Dark Reunion! We…" Kaidou swallowed here, "We have to keep going until we find him!"

_Good grief._ Saiki thought, _We're back to this farce of a mission._

"That's the spirit Kaidou!" Kuboyasu encouraged with a 10,000 watt grin. Kaidou answered with a more strained, 1 watt smile.

"Well, if we aren't going to stop hiking, we might as well keep going." Chiyo said, "I don't want to stop until we cut that time in half!"

Teruhashi nodded, "I agree... Let me just give Mera-chan some snacks and then we can uh — Mera-chan? Guys, where…?"

No.

No.

No. No. No. No. _No._

_Teruhashi, Kaidou, Kuboyasu, Chiyo..._

But sure enough_, _Mera was not among their number. And then, like being struck by lightning, that's when Saiki _finally_ noticed it. He couldn't believe it took him this long.

Not a half second later, Teruhashi noticed as well, "Oh no.. _Nendou."_

It was all just too much for Kaidou.

"Ohmy_God_Itsthe_DarkReunion_!Theyareslowlttakingour_number —"_

_"No_," Kuboyasu warned, pointing to Kaidou as if trying to calm a frantic dog, "_No_. So, what we are _not_ going to do, is let our imaginations run wild without evidence to back it up."

Oh. So _now_ they were going to reign in their imaginations? _Now _they were going to wait for evidence before acting?!

"They couldn't have gone far." Chiyo said, with a panic, "I mean, Mera was _just_ here."

Saiki clenched his fists. He had done everything _just_ so that this very thing wouldn't happen. How did he miss this? He'd been -

Ah.

Well, He _had_ been counting up until...

_( "It's nice of you, you know?" )_

Saiki looked to Teruhashi. Teruhashi looked to Saiki. Judging by the disappointed look on her face she looked like she felt responsible. Judging by the direction of her thoughts, she _definitely_ felt responsible.

Kuboyasu rubbed his hair in aggravation, "At this rate, we're never going to make it to the campsite!"

Kaidou put a hand on the former gangster's shoulders, "We...we will. Maybe we should split up to find the others. Like Chiyo said, they couldn't have gone far. The reunion can't take all of us."

Splitting up more was a bad idea.

"Good idea, Kaidou," Chiyo nodded, "I'll go with you."

"Ah.." Kaidou shot a furtive look to his best friend, "I'm, uh, actually thinking of going with Aren. Why don't you go with Saiki, Chiyo?"

Saiki shook his head.

"See, Saiki says I can't come."

Saiki wanted to roll his eyes but refrained. '_Splitting up isn't — _'

Chiyo pointed at Kuboyasu, "Let's do Rock, Paper, Scissors! If I win, I go with you, if I lose, Teruhashi goes, deal?"

Teruhashi, finally catching up with the direction of the group, found her voice, "Guys, I'm not sure that we should _—_ "

Kuboyasu scoffed, "I'm not going to play you like you're some item to be won! I'm telling you, this way is safer."

"Oh! So you're _scared_? Is that it?"

This time Saiki couldn't help but roll his eyes, '_Oh for the love of God, Kuboyasu, don't don't fall for th —'_

"You think I'm _scared_? Of _you?_ Oh, you're _on_!"

The two simultaneously stuck out their hands, while Saiki made his way over to who he'd eventually be paired with. There was no point in fighting what was obviously meant to be.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors ! Shoot!"

"Yes!" A female cry.

"...Damn." A rough grunt.

_Good grief. _A tired sigh.

* * *

So we all know how that ended.

Yes, I needed to split the cast. So!

Group1; Kaidou & Chiyo & Kuboyasu

Group2; Teruhashi & Saiki :)))

Missing; Nendou, Mera

See you next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7: Sorries and The Smile (TM)

Okay - just a few things:

1) I am the worst responder to things & for that I'm very sorry! Part of the problem is that my email doesn't do a good job alerting me to anything, so I think no one is reading this & I feel like I can take forever with my chapters. That's bad. The other part is I feel guilty replying to comments & not having a chapter to show for it after months pass. I do appreciate each & every one of you guys even if I don't show it in a timely manner! Literally your comments got me writing this chapter & the next. Thanks so much for them! They are so encouraging!

2) Saiki Reawakened! I have yet to watch it but I will! I'm so glad they made another season!

3) ... I never thought I would say this. But someone drew amazing fan art of a moment from last chapter. Their caption was basically that they thought the moment was so funny that they had to capture it. This literally means *so much* to me. I love it when I can make you guys laugh. Saiki makes me laugh constantly so I'm just very happy my story can do that for you too. Thank you [xx] for the fan art - it honestly meant so much. :))) (I originally said check it out here, but I didn't yet get the permissions so I will update once I do!)

Ok so I lied, it was more than I few things. I don't want to be one of those who write long authors comments but... anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter. :) Enjoy!

* * *

Kokomi. Felt. _Horrible_.

She didn't even know that this was a feeling a perfect girl like her could experience. What should have been a simple, light-hearted conversation with Saiki morphed into the creation of this disaster scenario he had been working so hard to avoid: The complete decimation of their hiking group.

After that quick game of rock, paper, scissors, the group split up to find Mera and Nendou. Kaidou, Kuboyasu, and Chiyo were grouped to go in one direction, leaving Saiki and herself to go in the other. They agreed to look for the others for only about 30 minutes and to go as straight as possible so that it wouldn't be hard to just turn around and return back to their meeting point. It was a surprisingly solid plan. Kokomi only hoped that it went as smooth as intended.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Kaidou pointed to Saiki sternly before they broke away, to which Saiki shot a dry look in response. In a grand show of mental acuity, Kuboyasu tied one of Kaidou's extra red tape to the nearby trees as a marker.

"Godspeed." The former gangster said somberly in farewell. Teruhashi literally _felt_ the bewildered distaste on Saiki's face when he heard that sendoff.

Honestly, the result of the impromptu rock, paper, scissor game couldn't have gone better for her. She was, after all, finally alone with Saiki. But it hurt to know that she couldn't enjoy a single moment of it because she had to go and be the whole reason why the group had to split up in the first place.

_I can't believe myself._ she thought, barely able to lift her head, _I distracted him and ruined everything. _

They were moving in silence, their steps loud to Kokomi's ears. She kept glancing up at her unlikely companion to see if she could extrapolate his feelings towards her, but he was as blank as ever. The whole affair became a guessing game. Was Saiki mad? Was he frustrated? Was he simply ignoring her existence because that's what he should have done from the very beginning of time so they could have avoided this whole mess in the first place and still been a whole group again?

Kokomi took a mental breath.

Sometimes when looking at Saiki, Kokomi caught him making that same strange cross-eyed face he made before they entered the forest. She didn't know why he was doing it, and so her mind ran wild with theories that maybe like how the SOS was for hopeless solutions, this face was reserved strictly for making fun of people.

_Oh God_, Kokomi lamented, _he was making fun of her. _

Was it really possible? Could he, in good conscious, make fun of a perfect pretty girl like her?

( _Well, considering the circumstances…_ )

Seeing Saiki make the face again caused, Kokomi's morale to dip even lower.

Ugh! What even was the _point_ in being perfect if it didn't get her out of feeling like a pile of hot garbage set out in the summertime! How could she fix this?! There had to be a way! There had to!

( _Despite Kokomi's abominable description of herself above, golden stars still glittered enticingly around the image of her rancid form still giving it the illusion of beauty._ )

Then Kokomi nearly bumped into Saiki's back because he stopped abruptly.

_'We should probably look in this area and see if we cant find any trace of Nendou and Mera here,' _Saiki remarked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Yes!" She replied immediately, to appear as though she had been paying attention the while time. She really didn't want to give Saiki any more reasons to hate her than he already did.

Looking around Teruhashi noticed they had stopped in some clearing. There didn't seem to be any traces of anyone around, but regardless she started peeking through some shrubbery and confirming they were devoid of anything Mera or Nendou shaped. Saiki went to do the same thing on his side of the clearing, but shuffling along much more slower than she.

As she searched, she fantasized. What would it be like in a perfect world If she made this blunder and Saiki actually did cared for her? She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it.

He would be disappointed, probably, but also understanding. He'd understand that she had his best intentions at heart and he'd know she was sorry. He would know that if she had her way, she would take it all back in a heart beat so that none of it could have happened. Instead if letting her wallow in self pity though, he'd sigh softly, look at her fondly in mild exasperation and say,

'_Its not your fault, Teruhashi._'

_Yes_! Teruhashi thought, with a small smile at the realness of the voice, _He would say it _e_xactly...like… _

. . . Wait a minute.

Kokomi spun around incredulously, "Um, did you just … ?"

The real Saiki wasn't looking at her, but he nodded his head, still looking through his own shrubbery. '_It isn't your fault that the others are missing.' _He repeated what she had thought she imagined earlier,

His voice was devoid of emotion, but the tone was exactly the same. Kokomi's fingers faltered on her own foliage. Was forgiveness really that simple? "If I hadn't up and talked to you before, then we wouldn't be in this mess now."

Saiki shot her a look that said, _Ah, so talking to someone is a crime now. Got it._

_How_ that look transmitted so many words, Kokomi didn't know. Regardless, she huffed a bit in response. It wasn't just talking to _someone_ that was the crime, it was specifically talking to_ her_.

In this case, her one major blessing turned out to be a detrimental curse. It was absolutely hateful.

The words flew out of her mouth without preamble, "I'm just saying that this whole situation wouldn't have happened at all if I wasn't — " Then Kokomi stopped herself, alarmed.

Saiki raised a challenging brow at her. _' 'If you weren't' what? _' he asked.

_Perfect._ She had meant to say. _None of this would have happened at all if she wasn't _perfect_._

While her answer was the right one_,_ but it was also _very_ _wrong_ because a large part of her charm in life was that she _wasn't supposed to know_ _she was perfect_. Her obliviousness allowed her to navigate the world in an unassuming, innocent way. That's how everyone knew her. She couldn't just give that up…

But she also couldn't leave the sentence hanging like that either.

"… if I wasn't bothering you about silly things," she finished lamely, to which Saiki's challenging eyebrow furrowed to a more incredulous one.

'_I see._'

"A-anyway," she plowed through, ignoring his skepticism, "I just want to say that if I played any part in the outcome of this negative situation, I'm very sorry and it was not my intention."

'_The apology is unnecessary._' Saiki replied with an air of just wanting to get things over with. '_But fine, I accept it._' And apparently that was that on that.

Kokomi was still left unsatisfied, bur there wasn't anything more she could really do about it, so they kept searching for their friends in silence. From time to time, Saiki would cock his head in certain directions as if listening for something, but Kokomi couldn't tell what. All she heard around them was rustling vegetation, birds, and insects. Looking through the shrubbery didn't seem to be yielding any results.

All in all, this was extremely far from how she imagined the trip to be. All that hard work she put into researching those love sites last night seemed to disintegrate into dust right before her eyes. She rubbed her eyes feeling mentally and physically exhausted.

There were more times when Kokomi would look at Saiki, and he was crossing his eyes again and again. With the apology out in the open, the action didn't seem much like a mocking tactic anymore and so the more she saw him do it, the more she wondered what it could actually could be. She didn't want to appear too curious, so she tried to reign it under thinking about salvaging her trip with Saiki but...

His eyes would cross, and she'd wondered.

His eyes would cross, and she'd wondered.

And finally, after catching him again, the question just came spilling out, "Saiki, what are you doing?"

Saiki's eyes snapped to focus at her question, and he started blinking rapidly, '_What?_'

She squinted his eyes at him, this time wondering if he was deliberately being obtuse. What else _could_ she mean? "I mean… we all have our quirks, so whatever you're doing is fine. I'm not judging its just that…"

Her trailing sentence caused him to look her way. His face was impassive, but there was something lurking in his eyes…

"You have this habit of crossing your eyes," she mimicked his eye-cross, the feat actually making her feel quite dizzy, "Like that. I saw you do it at the start of the hike. And you've done it several times now while we were looking for Mera and Nendou. I mean, I don't mean to pry, but I just wanted to know what you were doing?"

Saiki looked to be thinking in silence. His face was carefully blank, but something in his eyes still seemed very off.

'_It helps me think._' He seemed to finally settle on, before she could put her finger on identifying any of his hidden feelings.

"How so?" Kokomi asked.

There was a semi-awkward silence.

'_Its hard to explain.' _Saiki grimaced at the end of it,_ 'And it's not even interesting anyway._'

Kokomi jumped at the opportunity, she didn't even have to think about it, "I'm interested!"

It was clear her enthusiasm threw Saiki for a loop, '_You're not, I assure you._'

"I really, really am!" Kokomi replied, her pouring all her earnestness into her voice, "I don't know, maybe I can try it too and I end up helping you find Mera! You never know!"

At this remark, Saiki let out an unexpected snort of laughter, hands immediately rising to cover his face after. He looked surprised at himself, like he couldn't believe that noise actually came out of his own body.

Kokomi was surprised too because that was the closest thing to a true laugh she'd ever heard from him. Actually, she realized in steadily growing astonishment, aside from small huffs, she doesn't actually remember _ever _seeing Saiki truly laugh. Why hadn't she ever...?

The pink haired boy looked uncomfortable._ 'Look, Teruhashi, while I ah… _appreciate _the gesture, I _**sincerely doubt** — _'_

_"_You could let me try?_" _She implored timidly. There was this little glimpse of a Saiki she didn't quite know starting to shutter and die the more he spoke, so she pressed just a little more, "I still feel really bad about causing this whole mess in the first place. As one of the smartest people I know… If this method helps you, I only ask that you let me try. I can help!"

Saiki frowned heavily down at her.

Kokomi stared pleadingly up at him.

They went on like this for a little bit before Saiki relented, with a quiet sigh, '_Okay, fine.' _He said with a shake of his head,_ 'You can try it, but don't be surprised if nothing happens.'_

Despite his pessimism, it was exactly the response she wanted to hear.

Ans so unwittingly, Kokomi's face broke into the Smile™.

_( _**_The Smile™ (def.)_**_: When Teruhashi Kokomi experiences True Happiness™ in her heart derived from something or someone she enjoys, all false, charming, and normal smiles she uses from day to day melt away, and this facial expression, the likes of which pale in comparison to her already angelic beauty, is shown. Please also see: The 8th Wonder of the World. )_

While Kokomi was an expert at nearly everything relating to her face and what she could do with it, Kokomi knew next to nothing about the Smile™. She didn't even know what the Smile™ looked like. All she knew about it was that her face could do it, it always took her by surprise, and... that it rarely ever happened.

In reality, it was the first time the Smile™ was happening in front of someone else. Despite its rarity, Teruhashi found that it actually felt really nice to Smile™, so judging by Saiki's reaction maybe she could find a way to always —

Saiki blinked, took one look at the Smile™ and stared.

Teruhashi Smile™ faltered a bit, "Saiki?"

At the sound of his name, Saiki blinked, and then looked away very quickly.

_Oh God._ Kokomi thought, feeling the heat rush into her face. Apparently the Smile™ was_ ugly._

Immediately she squashed the foreign feeling of True Happiness™ and the Smile™, with nothing to fuel it, quickly fell from her face. Kokomi adjusted her face to a safer, 'I'm happy to be here' expression that she knew was fairly cute and cleared her throat.

"Sorry." She apologized. She honestly didn't even know why she was apologizing, "I'm just… Sorry."

It took a bit, but Saiki ( _somehow silently_ ) cleared his throat and shook his head, _'Stop apologizing,' _he said, once he got over her apparent flash of ugliness.

Kokomi just nodded without registering his words. "Yes, you're right. Let's just… keep looking for the others. I'm really sorry for —"

Saiki shot her a warning look.

"Oh! Yes. Right. I'm s — "

Another look.

"Right."

'_Sorry._'

_Good grief._

* * *

Hope you liked it! - I promise this is going somewhere. The ideas are all there, I just wish they would just get written really well instantaneously. But instead it takes a lot of time.

Thanks so much for the comments & kudos & fan art! They really make me smile & keep me going. :) Til next time!


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